Chunin
by Mystical Dreamweaver
Summary: Naruto wasn't Sasuke's first kiss.


**Chunin**

Summary: Sasuke's first kiss wasn't Naruto.

* * *

Itachi kept a blank face as he stoically received his new chunin vest. Glancing down at the sturdy green material, he felt just the smallest bubble of pride bloom in his stomach. He was a chunin now. That meant he was considered stronger and more apt to lead missions than his fellow genin. It meant he was being given a greater responsibility to protect his village, Konoha, and all the people housed within its walls.

He gave a short nod to the chunin that'd handed him the vest, registering the man's flicker of surprise at acknowledgement from the cold Uchiha heir, and swiftly vanished from the Hokage tower.

It was a great accomplishment to pass on his first time taking the exam, especially because he'd only graduated the academy a mere year ago. He knew his father was proud and was undoubtedly waiting for him at home to congratulate him. But such approval came with lectures on the prestige of the clan and how he was their beacon of hope. Itachi didn't care for such things.

He didn't care for the approval of a clan that only saw him as a tool to be used. He also didn't care for the glares of envy he received as he walked the streets of Konoha. Most of them were from genin that'd been unsuccessful in the exam. Some were from newly minted chunin who felt an eight year old passing somehow cheapened their own accomplishment. None were from any ranks above. The ones who still had the luxury to spend time being petty at that level died soon enough.

He stopped at a small candy shop. Contrary to all stereotypes of children loving sugar highs, his three year old otouto seemed to scorn sweets. It felt wrong to celebrate without some sort of sugary confection though. So he carefully selected two strawberry flavoured lollipops and went on his way.

Unfortunately for him, Sasuke and Mikoto were nowhere to be seen when he arrived at the playground. He surveyed the playground with the smallest furrow between his brows. It was packed with mothers and their young children, but the two crowns of black hair he was looking for were absent.

That was odd. Their mother brought Sasuke to the park to play for an hour every day without fail. He accompanied them when he could, enjoying seeing his baby brother play happily. It was the light he trained so hard to protect.

Sweeping his eyes over the area once more—although he knew he hadn't missed them the first time—Itachi finally took to the trees and rooftops, scanning the surrounding area. Perhaps Mikoto had left early today or was taking Sasuke with her to do some shopping in the market.

Half an hour later, he had to concede defeat. He had spotted other Uchiha, but none that were his mother or Sasuke.

He briefly toyed with the idea of staying out longer—he could head over to the training grounds for a bit—but knew it would be a weak excuse for coming home late. Besides, without being able to find them in the village, it was likely Mikoto and Sasuke were home too.

He wanted to see Sasuke. Wanted to tell his baby brother he was now a chunin and see the wonder in Sasuke's innocent face as he declared that his nii-san was the best. It was a small wish, one most anyone who knew him probably thought he was above. But no one knew him that well, except maybe Shisui, who understood that Sasuke had pulled him out of the darkness the war had placed him in.

He jumped over the walls surrounding the compound before taking to the streets again. It was rude to use the rooftops of people's homes in the compound.

He didn't run into anybody and soon reached the house designated for the clan head and his family. He was surprised though. Fugaku wasn't there to greet him as he'd been expecting.

He slid open the door and entered, taking off his scandals. Instantly, he heard the patter of little feet on wood as the next second his leg was accosted by a small toddler.

"Tachi-nii!" Sasuke yelled excitedly. "You're home! Me and kaa-san have been waiting."

He was bemused. "Waiting for me? Why?"

Sasuke grinned brightly. "It's a surprise."

"I see. Well, guess what? I have a bit of a surprise for you too, otouto." Itachi moved to reveal the green chunin vest he'd hidden behind his back, but Sasuke stopped him with a hurried, "Wait!"

He looked at his little brother questioningly.

"I want to show you my surprise first," Sasuke pouted.

He smiled. "Alright, lead the way."

Sasuke quickly grabbed his free hand and excitedly led him down the hallway to the kitchen. Itachi was greeted with the sight of his mother standing before the table, obviously hiding something.

He raised a brow at her. Mikoto smiled secretively and shook her head, glancing significantly at Sasuke. It figured their mother was in on whatever Sasuke wanted to show him.

He looked down at Sasuke who was staring up at him expectantly. "Close your eyes," the younger insisted.

He did.

He heard Sasuke walk over to their mother and whisper, "Ready?"

"Of course, Sasu-chan," Mikoto whispered back sweetly.

A few seconds of rustling and moving later, Sasuke told him he could look.

A small, vanilla frosted cake sat on the table with the words "Congratulations nii-san" written on it. He blinked, surprised.

Seeing Sasuke's happy face fall with disappointment, he quickly smiled. "It's wonderful, Sasuke. Thank you."

Sasuke immediately lit up again and ran over to hug his leg. "You really like it, nii-san? I know you like strawberries and don't like chocolate, so me and kaa-san decided on vanilla. It has strawberries inside!"

He nodded indulgently to his brother's rambling, but his mind was running double time to figure out what occasion he'd missed.

"Kaa-san said maybe we shouldn't in case you didn't pass, but I told her of course you would, so we went and got the ingredients and we even skipped the park today to come home and bake it."

That got his attention. Did Sasuke mean the chunin exam? He hadn't even been aware his brother knew he was taking it. Or that Sasuke knew the different ninja ranks. Theirs was a shinobi family, but he'd hoped to shield Sasuke from the realities of ninja life for at least a few more years.

He looked to his mother for answers, the confusion clear on his face.

"Sasuke heard from kids at the playground that the chunin exams were taking place soon in Konoha. Somehow he knew you'd be taking place. I told him the date when he asked. He was so confident you'd pass and insisted on having a cake ready to celebrate."

He looked back down at Sasuke with a rueful smile. "I guess that ruins my surprise then," he said as he bent and brought his arms around to hug his brother, revealing the folded green chunin vest he'd been hiding behind his back.

Sasuke's eyes lit up as he glanced at it. "You passed! I knew you would. Nii-san is the best!" He promptly landed a sloppy kiss on Itachi's cheek.

Itachi stared at him wide eyed, his free hand coming up to feel the slightly moist patch of skin. The famed Uchiha prodigy was speechless.

The silence was broken by Mikoto's soft voice. "Sasuke, why did you kiss your brother?"

Sasuke turned in Itachi's embrace to beam at his mother. "It's what you do to tou-san. Shisui-nii-san told me it's something you do to show how much you love someone. I love nii-san."

That brought Itachi out of his shock. He hooked his arms around Sasuke and lifted him up, the younger's arms automatically looping around his neck. He placed a soft kiss on Sasuke's tiny cheek. "I love you too, otouto."

They cut and ate the small cake. Itachi was glad Fugaku hadn't been home. His father didn't approve of such displays for something that was only expected of his son. He found out later from his mother that Fugaku had been waiting at home for him, but had been called away on urgent police business.

Later, as Mikoto prepared dinner, he'd been able to spend some quality time with Sasuke, something he knew would become rarer as he advanced through the ranks and began taking more missions. He'd showed Sasuke the lollipops he'd purchased, and as expected, the toddler was only too happy to eat something his nii-san bought him, even if it was sugary.

Now as he got ready for bed, he reflected on the day. It had been a long one for sure. The chunin exam had concluded that morning and then he'd waited with the other genin for the results.

He'd been both surprised and pleased at Sasuke's confidence in him. To Sasuke, he was the invincible older brother. Nothing could hinder him. As much as such a mindset was lethal for a shinobi on active duty—arrogance bred disaster, after all—he wanted to live up to that ideal. Sasuke's confidence in his strength meant that he believed Itachi would always protect him.

He couldn't imagine a day where that belief shattered. It would be the ultimate failure for him.

* * *

AN: I realize the summary is slightly misleading. When the idea came to me, it was supposed to be a kiss on the lips, but I couldn't see Mikoto and Fugaku being that openly affectionate.

I know Itachi made chunin at age 10, but for the story to be plausible, I needed Sasuke younger than 5, so in this oneshot Itachi makes chunin a year after graduating the academy.


End file.
